The invention relates to a suction attachment for a vacuum cleaner, which suction attachment is provided with a foot, a suction opening extending in an imaginary plane in the foot, which suction opening is bounded by an edge of the foot, and a connection member for connecting the foot to a suction channel of the vacuum cleaner, the foot being provided, near the edge, with a brush, which can be displaced by means of an adjusting device from a first position, wherein the brush is recessed in the suction opening, to a second position, wherein the brush protrudes from said suction opening.
The invention also relates to a vacuum cleaner provided with a housing, wherein an electrical suction unit is accommodated, and with a suction attachment, which can be coupled to the suction unit via a suction channel and is provided with a foot, a suction opening in said foot extending in an imaginary plane and being bounded by an edge of the foot, and a connection member for connecting the foot to the suction channel, the foot being provided, near the edge, with a brush which can be displaced by means of an adjusting device from a first position, wherein the brush is recessed in the suction opening, to a second position wherein the brush protrudes from the suction opening.
A vacuum cleaner and a suction attachment used therein of the types mentioned in the opening paragraphs are commonly known and in general use. In the known suction attachment, the adjusting device for displacing the brush comprises a tumbler knob which is provided on an upper side of the foot and can be operated by a user of the vacuum cleaner by means of, for example, a foot. Said tumbler knob is coupled to a support by means of an adjusting mechanism, which support is displaceably guided in the foot and onto which the brush is secured. By operating the tumbler knob, the user can displace the brush from the first position to the second position and from the second position to the first position. In its first position, the brush is recessed in the suction opening and the suction attachment can suitably be used to clean carpets. In its second position, the brush protrudes from the suction opening and the suction attachment can suitably be used to clean a smooth floor surface.
A drawback of the known vacuum cleaner and the known suction attachment used therein resides in that the tumbler knob is rather heavy to operate as a result of its comparatively small dimensions. As a result, the ease of use of the known vacuum cleaner and the known suction attachment are adversely affected.
It is an object of the invention to provide a suction attachment and a vacuum cleaner of the types mentioned in the opening paragraphs, which enable the adjusting device for displacing the brush of the suction attachment to be operated with less effort, so that the ease of use of the suction attachment and the vacuum cleaner is improved.
To achieve this object, a suction attachment in accordance with the invention is characterized in that the foot is rotatable with respect to the connection member about an axis of rotation extending substantially perpendicularly to the suction opening, from a first position to at least a second position, and in that the adjusting device comprises a coupling member by means of which the brush is coupled to the connection member, the coupling member holding the brush in its first position when the foot is in the first position, and in its second position when the foot is in the second position.
To achieve this object, a vacuum cleaner in accordance with the invention is characterized in that the suction attachment used therein is a suction attachment in accordance with the invention.
As the brush is coupled to the rotatable foot by means of the coupling member, and the coupling member holds the brush in its first position when the foot is in the first position, and in its second position when the foot is in the second position, the brush of the suction attachment in accordance with the invention can be displaced from its first position to its second position and from its second position to its first position by rotating the foot about said axis of rotation from, respectively, its first position to its second position and from its second position to its first position. As the foot has comparatively large dimensions, the user only has to apply a comparatively small force to the foot in order to exert a torque about the axis of rotation necessary to rotate the foot and displace the brush, so that the operation of the adjusting device is comparatively light and the ease of use of the suction attachment is improved. As said axis of rotation extends substantially perpendicularly to the suction opening, said suction opening substantially remains in said imaginary plane during rotation of the foot. By virtue thereof, it is achieved that, if in the first position of the foot and in a predetermined position of the connection member with respect to a surface to be cleaned, the suction opening extends substantially parallel to said surface, then, in the second position of the foot and in said predetermined position of the connection member, the suction opening also extends substantially parallel to said surface.
A particular embodiment of a suction attachment in accordance with the invention is characterized in that, in its first position, the foot extends substantially perpendicularly to a displacement direction of the foot while, in its second position, the foot is rotated about the axis of rotation through an angle of substancially 180xc2x0 with respect to its first position. As, in its first position, the foot extends substantially perpendicularly to the displacement direction and, in its second position, said foot is rotated about the axis of rotation through substancially 180xc2x0 with respect to the first position, the foot extends, in its second position, also substantially perpendicularly to the displacement direction, so that, in its first and second position, the foot is comparably positioned with respect to the surface to be cleaned and, viewed perpendicularly to the displacement direction, has comparable suction ranges.
A further embodiment of a suction attachment in accordance with the invention is characterized in that the foot is provided with a front edge and a rear edge extending transversely to the displacement direction, and, near the front edge and the rear edge, with a separate brush which can be displaced by means of the adjusting device. In this embodiment, the foot is substantially symmetrical with respect to a principal axis extending perpendicularly to the displacement direction. As a result, in its first and second position, the foot takes up substantially equal positions with respect to the surface to be cleaned and the foot has substantially equal suction properties in the first and the second position.
Yet another embodiment of a suction attachment in accordance with the invention is characterized in that the foot can also be rotated about the axis of rotation to a third position, wherein the foot is rotated through an angle of substancially 90xc2x0 with respect to its first position, and to a fourth position, wherein the foot is rotated through an angle of substancially 270xc2x0 with respect to its first position, the coupling member holding the brush in its first position when the foot is in the third position, and in its second position when the foot is in the fourth position. In said embodiment, in its first and second position, the foot extends substantially perpendicularly to the displacement direction of the suction attachment, so that the suction attachment has a comparatively wide suction range, viewed perpendicularly to the displacement direction, and, in its third and fourth position, the foot extends substantially parallel to the displacement direction, so that, viewed perpendicularly to the displacement direction, the suction attachment has a comparatively narrow suction range. By virtue thereof, in the first and the second position of the foot, the suction attachment is suitable for normal use, and in the third and the fourth position of the foot, the suction attachment is suitable for use in comparatively narrow spaces or corners. In combination with both the comparatively wide suction range and the comparatively narrow suction range, the suction attachment can be used with and without the protruding brush by rotating the foot from, respectively, its first position to its second position, or conversely, and from its third position to its fourth position, or conversely. By virtue thereof, the suction attachment has a comparatively large number of applications.
A particular embodiment of a suction attachment in accordance with the invention is characterized in that the suction attachment is provided with a lock device by means of which the foot can be locked in at least one of its four positions with respect to the connection member. By using said lock device, it is precluded that the foot is unintentionally rotated from the relevant position under the influence of handling forces exerted during operation. The ease of use of the suction attachment is further improved thereby.
A further embodiment of a suction attachment in accordance with the invention is characterized in that the connection member is provided with a substantially cylindrical portion having a central axis extending substantially perpendicularly to the suction opening, and with a connection channel which can be connected to the suction channel of the vacuum cleaner, the foot being journalled so as to be rotatable about the cylindrical portion, while the connection channel is pivotable, with respect to the cylindrical portion, about a pivot axis extending substancially perpendicularly to the central axis. In this embodiment, the axis of rotation of the foot substantially coincides with the central axis of the cylindrical portion of the connection member. By using the cylindrical portion and the connection channel, a practical and efficient construction of the suction attachment is obtained, wherein the foot is rotatably journalled in an efficient and robust manner, and the connection channel is pivotable in a practical and user-friendly manner.
Yet another embodiment of a suction attachment in accordance with the invention is characterized in that the connection member is provided with a substantially cylindrical portion having a central axis extending substantially perpendicularly to the suction opening, the foot being journalled so as to be rotatable about the cylindrical portion, while the coupling member is provided with a slot, which is provided in an outer wall of the cylindrical portion, a support for the brush, which support is guided in the foot so as to be displaceable guided in the foot in a direction substantially parallel to the central axis, and a slot follower, which is provided on the support and engages in the slot. In this embodiment, the coupling member is embodied in a practical and simple manner, said slot, viewed in the direction of rotation of the foot, having a profile which corresponds to a desired displacement of the support with the brush as a function of the position of the foot.